ZA001, the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, has had to have one of its Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines replaced after it experienced a surge during flight testing in Roswell, New Mexico. According to various reports, the surge occurred on September 10 late in the day while the aircraft was taxiing out for brake testing. A loud
Airbus has begun flight testing a 15sq m carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) fuselage panel to evaluate its acoustic properties and help fine tune sound insulation for the A350 XWB. The composite panel, which has been fitted with microphone sensors, has been added in place of an aluminium fuselage section of an A340 and will
Boeing has completed assembly of the forward fuselage section of the first 747-8 Intercontinental, with the 27.2m section moved from an assembly tool for sealing and testing before beginning systems installation. The first Intercontinental is expected to be delivered to launch customer Lufhansa in the fourth quarter of 2011, while delivery of the first 747-8
Boeing has announced that it has commenced fatigue testing a 787 test airframe, which will involve testing for how the structure responds over a simulated number of life cycles. “Unlike static tests, where loads are applied to the airplane structure to simulate both normal operation and extreme flight conditions, fatigue testing is a much longer
Boeing believes that airlines in the Oceania region will require 920 new aircraft worth US$120bn (A$129bn) over the next 20 years, according to its latest Current Market Outlook. Boeing’s vice president of marketing Randy Tinseth shared the outlook as part of a series of briefings he is undertaking this week in Sydney, and noted that
Boeing is increasingly looking like it will not offer a re-engining option for future 737 customers, but could instead offer further incremental improvements to the existing NG series aircraft, which has been internally dubbed ‘737NG+’. According to Flightblogger, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Jim Albaugh raised the prospect of a 737NG+ during an internal company webcast